FILE PHOTO: The Merck logo is seen at a gate to the Merck & Co campus in Linden, New Jersey, U.S., July 12, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

But shares of both U.S. drugmakers fell as investors worry about a plan the Trump administration is expected to unveil on Thursday aimed at lowering prices the government’s Medicare healthcare program pays for specialty drugs like cancer treatments.

Bristol-Myers pioneered cancer immunotherapy with Yervoy and later its blockbuster drug Opdivo. But Merck & Co’s (MRK.N) rival treatment Keytruda has seized a dominant position in lung cancer - the most lucrative oncology market - and Bristol-Myers’ shares have suffered.

Keytruda sales exceeded those for Opdivo for the second straight quarter. It has been amassing approvals as a standalone therapy and in combination with other drugs to treat several forms of cancers, and has become the leader in both new patient starts and total patient volume.

Yervoy also performed better than expected with sales of $382 million in the quarter.

Bristol-Myers shares were down 2.4 percent at $47.68 in early trading, while Merck shares fell 2.5 percent to $68.80. Bristol-Myers’ shares had been down 20 percent so far this year, while Merck’s shares were up 25 percent, as each new clinical success for Keytruda weighed on Bristol shares.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst John Boris said the expected announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump “is a direct shot against the immuno-oncology players.”

The company also announced a $10 billion share buyback and raised its quarterly dividend by 15 percent.

“Expectations were high coming into the quarter, but we think these results should still be well received and allow for continued confidence,” Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan said in a note.

Merck said it plans to spend $16 billion on capital projects through 2022, up from its previous projection of $12 billion, to increase manufacturing capacity in oncology, vaccines and animal health.

“We are confident in our future growth prospects,” said Merck Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier, who will remain in the role beyond 2019 after the company scrapped its mandatory retirement age.

Merck also saw strong growth from Gardasil, its vaccine to prevent HPV-related cancers. Gardasil sales grew 55 percent to $1.05 billion, helped by increased demand in China and Australia, and its growth should be helped by recently expanded U.S. approval to treat people up to age 45.

Bristol-Myers’ said it earned $1.09 a share, excluding special items, topping analysts’ average expectations by 18 cents.

FILE PHOTO: Logo of global biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb is pictured on the blouse of an employee in Le Passage, near Agen, France March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo